Bonding
My Name Is, Er, Bond?
Bonding
by Cyril Blake
Seabright Live at Wilton’s Music Hall,Wapping until 11th July, then on tour until 26th August
Review by Eleanor Marsh
An eclectic audience, in an almost full house, were in attendance at Wilton’s to see a play about James Bond. They knew their stuff, all had their favourite Bonds and cheered lustily for them when asked and the set pieces of Martini glass gag and gun barrel sequence got them cheering. They were in for a good night.
The premise of this one man play is an autobiographical study of parent-children relationships, male bonding and what masculinity means, all seen through the eyes of a James Bond fan and his dad, with a little help from 007 himself. The play comes full circle and there was a palpable moment of “oh, of course” from the audience in the final few minutes. It’s a good device to use jackets symbolising each Bond actor and era to add interest and clarity to the piece. It is also a nice touch that the actor’s impression of each icon is performed very knowingly tongue in cheek.
However, the big flaw in this story is that we don’t know who is telling it. It is clear from the programme (free of charge – nice touch) that the play is written and performed by Cyril Blake. It does not say that he is playing the character of Stephen Lewis, which is how he introduces himself onstage. And this raises the some questions.
Is Cyril Blake Stephen Lewis’ nom de plume? Is Stephen Lewis Cyril Blake’s stage name? Who is the real person? And most importantly – is this a true story? Who is this play about? … And why should we care? Because we are definitely asked to care. But unless it is clear who is telling this story and why they are telling it there is a whiff of deception in the air and this is discomforting. Blake-Lewis did little to help the audience engagement. He appeared to be working very hard to use the acting techniques he tells us about in the show but — perhaps because of the whole identity dilemma — never appeared fully invested in the character and as a result the audience felt the same.
The play is well written and has a very important message to deliver. The Bond angle is genius and the lighting and use of music do an excellent job of taking us to a different time and place. The whole package is an entertaining hour of nostalgia, and tackles the issues it addresses well, but never quite moves us in the way it is intended.
Eleanor Marsh, July 2025
Photography by Steve Ullathorne
Mark Aspen 